n

n

nNERO smiled when he woke up inside a dark, unfamiliar room.

nStanding in front of him was a white shadow-y beast in the form of a wolf with two tails. It must be his Soul Beast.

n

"Hi, there,

" Nero greeted the white wolf.

"Will you lend me your power, Mr. Wolf?

"

n

"I know that Soul Beasts like me exist to serve a de Moonasterio like you,

" the Soul Beast said in a metallic voice.

"But I don't feel like following an order from a brat.

"

nHe didn't expect that it would be easy to control a Soul Beast.

nBut Neoma is special, of course. She's very cute so obviously, not even a Soul Beast can resist her charm. My precious sister is really the best.

n

"Well, I have flash news for you, Mr. Wolf,

" Nero said with a smile.

"I don't take

"no

" for an answer.

"

n***

nNEOMA was worried about Nero.

nHer twin brother was now lying on the bed, unconscious but his now red eyes were opened. According to Alphen, it was a sign of his awakening.

nSo, this is how I looked when I awakened, huh?

nAlphen and the maids gave Nero a sponge bath and changed his clothes into pajamas. Then, they left her to sleep. They asked them to look after him.

nAccording to Alphen, it was Nero's order to leave him in my care.

nIt felt good that her twin brother trusted her now.

n

"Good night, Nero,

" Neoma said to her twin brother. Then, she laid on her side and put her hand on his tummy. She gently tapped his stomach while humming a lullaby.

"Come back safely, baby brother.

"

nWell, technically, Nero was older by a few minutes.

nBut her mental age was old enough for her to act like his mother. She may be acting cute to suck up to him and survive. But at the end of the day, they were still siblings. And she didn't have a reason to hate him in this lifetime. In short, she was genuine with her intention to get along with her twin brother this time.

nI won't let you become a psycho, Nero.

nShe intended to stay awake until Nero woke up.

nBut unfortunately for Neoma, she still had a body of a child. She failed to fight her drowsiness and soon, everything went black.

n***

nNEOMA woke up when she felt strange coldness in the room.

nShe got up and opened her eyes to check on Nero. Much to her shock, she saw a man clad in black standing on Nero's side of the bed. And the intruder was pointing a dagger at her twin brother's heart.

nNeoma gasped aloud.

"No!

"

nNot that the assailant would listen to her.

nInstead, the masked man stabbed Nero in the heart.

nIt seemed like the dagger was also laced with magic. She saw the blade turn into fine black dust, then entered Nero's mouth. Right after that, her twin brother coughed with blood.

nThat snapped her back to reality.

n

"Guards!

" Neoma screamed at the top of her lungs.

"We're being attacked!

"

nThe way the assassin calmly turned to her told her that he was confident no one would be coming to save them. That only meant one thing.

nThe knights are dead.

nWhen the assassin walked towards her with a new dagger in his hand, she immediately stood up on the bed and punched the dagger using her little fist.

nThanks to her awakening, her body was now sturdier than a normal child's.

nThe assassin looked shocked when the blade broke into two because of her punch.

nGod, that hurts!

nShe was cut a little but she didn't have time to dwell on the pain. As soon as the assassin threw the dagger's holder, he moved to attack her with his fist.

nAs if she would let him hit her.

nOnce again, she used her super strong fist and gutted the assassin. She heard his ribs broke when her tiny fist connected at his side. Before he could recover, she jumped and kicked him in the face. She poured her strength in that kick so no wonder she sent the assailant flying until he hit the wall.

nGosh, I'm like a superhero.

n

"N-Neoma…

"

nNeoma turned to Nero. He was already awake but he obviously looked like in pain. His chest area was also bleeding profusely.

"Nero, let's go,

" she said, then she helped him get up.

"I know you're in pain but we need to run first.

"

nNero nodded, then his gaze went past her. His eyes widened in fear.

"Neoma!

"

nShe turned behind her and when she saw the assassin who was about to stab them, she covered Nero with her body and closed her eyes tight.

nIs this my end?

nBut a few seconds passed and she didn't feel any pain yet.

n

"Your Royal Highness!

"

nNeoma quickly opened her eyes. She saw Alphen and Stephanie running in their direction. When she turned to the assassin, she noticed the white-ish light wrapped around his body like a rope.

nConsidering that Alphen's right hand was glowing, she could only conclude that the head butler saved them in time.

nI'm alive!

nShe turned to Stephanie who came to their side in a hurry. The head maid was holding a dagger as if she intended to fight. But when she turned to Nero, she looked shocked when she saw the blood in the prince's chest.

n

"Stephanie, carry Nero,

" Neoma said in urgency.

"He'll be fine. He just awakened.

"

nStephanie nodded and immediately carried Nero in her arms.

n

"Neoma,

" Nero said worriedly.

n

"I can run, Brother,

" she assured her twin brother, then she jumped off the bed and ran with Stephanie.

nAlphen stayed in the room to capture the assassin.

nOh, god.

nThe hallway was filled with dead knights and maids that the assassin definitely killed before getting into their chamber.

nNeoma's

"ace

" in that lifetime was the memories of her past.

nBut this didn't happen in my first life!

n***

nNEOMA was hiding in the treasure room with Stephanie and Nero.

nThey failed to leave the palace because one of the knights in his last moments told them that the assassin wasn't alone. Plus, moving around wasn't good for Nero. They had to find a hiding place first to give her twin brother first aid.

nSo right now, Stephanie was doing her best to stop the bleeding from Nero's chest by pressing clothes in his wound. The prince looked really weak and was barely awake. She had a feeling that the dust that entered his body a while ago was wrecking his insides.

nWe need a Healing Sage!

nBut first, they needed to get out of there.

nNeoma kept on pressing the gem in the brooch that Stephanie gave her when they got in the treasure room. According to the head maid, it was an emergency device designed to contact the emperor's palace. She had already sent a signal before so she assured them that the royal knights from her father's palace would come and save her.

nThey're f*cking late!

n

"This is bad, Your Royal Highness,

" Stephanie said with a terrified look on her face.

"The royal prince's wound won't stop bleeding. We need to get him to a Healing Sage or else…

"

nThe head maid didn't need to finish her sentence.

nJudging by Nero's pale face, she knew that her twin brother wouldn't make it if they just waited in there to be saved by the backup knights.

nI need to save my baby brother.

nFunny, wasn't it?

nNero killed her in her past life. She should have held her grudge longer so she wouldn't feel this way. But how could she hate a little boy who showered her nothing but love? He might be a little off. But in this lifetime, he loved her genuinely.

nShe knew what she had to do.

nNeoma grabbed the dagger attached to Stephanie's hip.

nThe head maid gave her a questioning look. As a response, she held her hair in one hand. Then, she used the dagger to cut her hair until it was as short as Nero's. God, she loved her long hair so much that it hurt to cut it that carelessly.

nBut she needed to do that for their survival.

n

"Stephanie, take off Nero's clothes,

" Neoma ordered the head maid. Then, she took off her nightgown until she was only in her underwear.

"I'll switch with him.

"

n***

nAFTER Neoma wore Nero's clothes, she silently and carefully exited the treasure room.

nWhen she was sure that no one saw her come out from that chamber, she ran away from it as fast as she could. To be honest, she didn't know where the exit was even though this was her second time living in Luna Palace.

nIn her defense, the hallways were unusually dark. Plus, she wasn't really paying attention to her surroundings because she didn't want to look at the dead bodies lined up in the corridor. God, the assassins murdered everyone they saw in the palace!

nHow merciless!

n

"There you are.

"

nNeoma was forced to stop running when a masked man blocked her way. She tried to run to the other side but another assassin appeared. Now she was trapped in the dark hallway where two assailants blocking her possible exits.

nNow she had no choice but to fight.

nHey, Soul Beast! Shouldn't you help me during times like this?!

nBut then again, before she left the Soul Beast, it told her that it would go on a

"hibernation

" to change from being a dragon into being a unicorn that she requested. That meant that her stubborn Soul Beast was asleep inside her.

nGod, why did I ask it to be a unicorn again?!

nAs soon as she asked that to herself, Emperor Nikolai's smiling face entered her mind.

nAh, that's why.

nIn her past life, she made the emperor smile once.

nIt happened when her father asked her what she wanted for her last birthday in the palace. During that time, she was about to leave her residence to be adopted by Duke Quinzel. She was too shocked when the emperor asked her what she wanted for the first time. So she blurted out what came to her mind first: a unicorn.

nEmperor Nikolai smiled faintly and told her that it was too

"childish

" for a twelve-year-old girl. She was embarrassed so she took it back and said she wanted pretty clothes and shoes instead. But at that moment, she knew that she already received the best birthday gift that she could ever ask for.

nAnd that was to see her father smile for her.

nNeoma suddenly felt emotional.

"God, I'm about to die again,

" she whispered while shaking her head.

"If only I could see him smile once last time…

"

n

"Kill him,

" the assassin behind her said.

"Kill the royal prince!

"

nShe knew that she couldn't win a fight against two adults but she didn't want to die easily. Despite everything, she still went on a fighting stance and hoped that her punches would do digits on the assassins.

nHere goes nothing!

nShe used her arms to cover her face from the attack that she would receive.

nBut all of a sudden, the heads of the assassins fell off the ground. Their bodies, without the heads, still continued to run towards her. But she managed to get away from them until her back hit the wall behind.

nShe gulped while watching blood spurt from the headless neck.

nGross.

n

"For a girl, you're smart and brave.

"

nNeoma looked up at the owner of the cold voice.

nIt was indeed Emperor Nikolai. Based on the bloody sword that he was holding in his right hand, it was obvious that he was the one who saved her.

nHeh. He saved me?

n

"You're not as useless as I thought you'd be,

" Emperor Nikolai said. With just one shake of his sword, the blood in the blade magically vanished. Then, he put the sword back in the sheath attached to his hip.

"Neoma de Moonasterio, the first princess of Moonasterion Empire. From now on, you'll live as Prince Nero's proxy.

"

nThe hell is this psycho saying?

nNeoma, despite her confusion, still smiled at the emperor.

"Father, what do you mean by that?

"

n

"From now on, Nero would be targeted by assassins sent by my enemies,

" the emperor explained.

"Until he's strong enough to protect himself, you'll pose as your twin brother.

"

nHer smile froze but she still acted innocent.

"But Father. If I take my brother's position, then wouldn't the assassins mistake me for him and…

"

nShe stopped talking when she realized that was exactly what the emperor wanted her to do.

nThis sc*mbag wants me to be a bait?!

n

"You're no longer a princess, Neoma de Moonasterio. From now on, you'll live as Prince Nero de Moonasterio,

" Emperor Nikolai said coldly while looking down at her with glowing red eyes.

"Try to survive until your twin brother comes back to take his rightful place, understood?

"

nNeoma was too shocked to react.

nAre you f*cking kidding me, you sc*mbag?!

n***

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n